Six Return to Real World After Four Months on 'Mars'

Six researchers who have been living in a mock-up Mars habitat on a Hawaiian volcano returned to the real world today, feeling a breeze and hearing birds for the first time in four months.

The second Hawaii Space Exploration Analog & Simulation mission, known as HI-SEAS, ended 120 days of the Red Planet exploration on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano.

HI-SEAS.org

The HI-SEAS Mars Mission simulator at Mauna Loa volcano, in Hawaii.

Expedition leader Casey Stedman and his five crew members have been living inside their 1,000-square-foot solar-powered dome, which includes common areas such as kitchen, dining room, bathroom with shower, lab and exercise space.

“I haven’t seen a tree, smelled the train, heard a bird, or felt wind on my skin in four months,” Stedman posted on his Instagram account.